Feasibility of Co-locating wave energy converters with offshore aquaculture: The Pioneering case study of China's Penghu platform

Abstract

As the aquaculture industry moves further offshore, there is an increasing prospect of co-locating wave energy converters (WECs) with offshore aquaculture. In China, the multi-use of wave energy and offshore aquaculture has already been implemented and demonstrated commercially. A thorough analysis of the power performance and dynamic and structural responses on the Penghu platform is performed in this paper to improve the understanding of the co-locating potential. The analysis is based on the potential flow theory, multi-body constrained dynamics equations, and quasi-static finite element analysis (FEA) method. It is found that powering offshore aquaculture operations is possible using wave energy paired with solar energy. In addition, the inclusion of WECs can, to some extent, reduce the platform motion, making visits to the aquaculture site more feasible. The inner pool wave elevation is slightly reduced compared to the free surface elevation outside Penghu, which is conducive to aquaculture operations. It is also shown that the structural design of the Penghu platform is very safe. Still, the hinge points must be seriously considered because of the possibility of fatigue fracture. Overall, co-locating WECs and offshore aquaculture is demonstrated as a feasible solution to the power supply problems of offshore aquaculture.